Baltimore zoning appeals: daycare approved for 20 children; church fence variance granted; several conversions deferred or denied

Baltimore City Board of Municipal Zoning Appeals members met to hear a long docket of zoning appeals and administrative items, approving a conditional-use day care for up to 20 children with conditions, granting a front/corner fence variance at the former St. Rose site to address public-safety concerns, denying a front-yard RV parking pad request, and refusing a second-story rear addition that would expand an existing nonconforming structure.

Why it matters: The board’s votes affect whether small property changes can proceed without additional legislation, and they reflect how the board weighs neighborhood safety and the city’s zoning code (including rules on nonconforming structures) against property owners’ plans to renovate or enlarge buildings.

The meeting opened with routine administrative staff items. The board agreed to a 12-month extension for a timely-filed first extension request for a multifamily project; the board also agreed to ask for more information and re‑notice one extension request for a restaurant conditional-use that was filed after the one‑year deadline.

Among the cases decided: - 2025-0012215 Penrose Avenue (Fruits of the Spirit / Monica McMickens): The board granted…